DHS' Progress in 2011: Strengthening Cybersecurity

In FY 2011, DHS’s U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) responded to more than 100,000 incident reports, and released more than 5,000 actionable cybersecurity alerts and information products. US-CERT provides response support and defense (PDF) against cyber attacks for the Federal Civilian Executive Branch (.gov) networks as well as private sector partners, upon request. US-CERT also collaborates and shares information with state and local government, industry, and international partners to address cyber threats and develop effective security responses.

DHS launched the Loaned Executive program and Cyber Workforce Initiative, two programs designed to attract top professionals in the scientific and cyber fields. Over the past two years, DHS has increased the size of its cybersecurity workforce by approximately 500 percent, and the Department’s fiscal year 2012 budget request supports high-quality, cost-effective cybersecurity education and training to develop and grow a robust cybersecurity workforce.

Secretary Napolitano, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, and White House Cybersecurity Coordinator Howard A. Schmidt recognized the winners of the Stop.Think.Connect. Campaign's Public Service Announcement Challenge for their contributions to the campaign's efforts to encourage Internet safety among Americans. DHS also announced the launch of a new Stop.Think.Connectwebsite and new partnerships with Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) America, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and YMCA — initiatives that will help protect millions of children from online threats by encouraging Internet safety.

The U.S. and India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote closer cooperation and the timely exchange of critical cybersecurity information and expertise between the two governments through the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and DHS' US-CERT. Through this arrangement, the respective governments and broader cybersecurity communities in both the U.S. and India will have the ability to coordinate with their counterparts on a broad range of technical and operational cyber issues.

DHS provided key analysis and assistance through its Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) (PDF) to protect the industrial control systems that help operate the U.S. power grid, manufacturing systems and other essential critical infrastructure from dangerous malware and viruses that may cause damage or destroy key resources.

DHS released the Blueprint for a Secure Cyber Future: The Cybersecurity Strategy for the Homeland Security Enterprise, which calls for a coordinated effort across the homeland security community to protect our nation’s critical information infrastructure and build a safer and more secure cyber ecosystem. Specific actions outlined in the strategy range from hardening critical networks and prosecuting cybercrime to raising public awareness and training a national cybersecurity workforce.